"boston globe" article just weeks before the attacks. i'm don lemon at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. live coverage of the white house correspondents' dinner begins one hour from now here on cnn. you're looking at live pictures now from the hilton in washington. in the meantime, anderson cooper's special report "boston terror: behind the bombings" terror: behind the bombings" begins right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com > here > her in boston, two bombs, two brothers, accused of turning the marathon into carnage. now we follow the terror from the boston suburbs to a war-torn part of russia, investigating who the suspects were, how the deadly plan took place, and crucially, what turned a pair of striving immigrants into alleged killers. drew griffin begins our special report, "boston terror: behind the bombings."

>> reporter: from the moment two bombs exploded at the finish line of the boston marathon -- >> oh, my god. oh, my god. >> reporter: -- another race began. to catch the perpetrators of the deadly attack. >> today we are enlisting the public's help. we are releasing the photos of these two suspects. >> reporter: april 18th, 5:21 p.m. these two men, later identified as 26-year-old tamerlan tsarnaev and his 19-year-old brother dzhokhar, become the most hunted fugitives in america. their pictures splashed across every tv, phone, and computer in the country. >> somebody out there knows these individuals as friends, neighbors, co-workers, or family members of the suspects. >> reporter: less than five hours after the images are released the suspects resurface. with deadly consequences.

at 10:20 p.m. an m.i.t. police officer is found shot dead in his patrol car. just blocks away around 11:00 p.m. a 26-year-old chinese entrepreneur living in boston is carjacked at gunpoint in his mercedes suv. by two men claiming to be the boston bombers. "boston globe" reporter eric moskowitz interviewed the anonymous carjacking victim, named danny, about his ordeal. >> along the way he hears them talk about manhattan. they ask him about whether his car could go to new york. >> reporter: the suspects stop at an atm to withdraw $800 cash, using their hostage's bank card and password. back in the car the victim's cell phone rings. it's his roommate asking where he is. >> tamerlan says, you know, pick up the phone, if you say anything in chinese i'll kill you. because if he's speaking in chinese he may be calling for help. >> reporter: en route to the expressway they make a crucial

pit stop. >> heading toward interstate 95 they realize they need gas. they pull up to a gas station on the charles river in cambridge. the younger brother gets out with danny's credit card to get gas. moments later he knocks on the window and says cash only. he then has to go into the food mart. that leaves just danny and tamerlan in the front two seats. tamerlan has for some reason the gun down in the pocket and is fiddling with the gps. danny realizes that's his time. >> reporter: while one brother is inside paying for the gas, the carjacking victim bolts from the suv, sprinting to the gas station across the street. >> translator: he fell. he collapsed here. he fell right here and he appealed to me, please, please call the police, there are people out there who want to kill me, people who want to make sure i die. they have guns with them and they have a bomb with them. >> reporter: in his rush to escape the carjacking victim leaves his cell phone in the stolen suv. police trace its signal to

watertown, where andrew kitzenberg is hanging out in his living room, watching the hockey game. >> i heard pops outside. so i went to the window. and when i went to the window i saw two shooters behind an suv. >> the two brothers stopped, get out of the vehicles, immediately started shooting at my officer. >> without provocation. >> right. they took the gun fight to us. >> reporter: kitzenberg runs upstairs to his bedroom, takes out his iphone, and starts taking photos of the surreal scene unfolding outside his window. >> there's a serious gunfight going on. the second person on the scene, one of my sergeants, he pulled up and he immediately gets at least one shot right through his windshield. and he decides to put the car in gear and lets it roll down the street while he's able to get out and take up a position so he's a little bit safer. >> at some point more than just guns, right? >> right. >> it's explosive devices. >> right. one of them goes and pops the

trunk of one of their vehicles and hurls something at our officers. >> did you see the bombs being thrown? >> i did. yeah, i saw the explosives being thrown, and then they -- i could see them reaching down into backpacks. i actually saw them take out the pressure cooker bomb and put it right at their feet. >> reporter: the brothers had another bomb just like the ones they're suspected of using at the marathon. >> i actually saw the spark from the bomb, and that's when i immediately hit the ground. i could feel it. i could feel it shake the house. at that point one of the shooters actually started charging the officers, running down the streets, still firing his weapons. >> and they're literally about ten feet away from each other, exchanging gunfire. and then he runs out of ammunition, the bad guy. and one of my officers was able to tackle him and put him to the ground. >> i looked back up, and the other brother got back into the car and he had turned it around in the street and started

accelerating up -- up laurel street towards the police, towards the vehicles, basically flooring it. >> somebody at the last minute yelled "get out of the way." and they dove out of the way as he came roaring through and ran over his brother. >> reporter: as tamerlan lies dying in the street, 19-year-old dzhokhar tsarnaev drives straight through a police barricade and escapes. >> the car that he abandoned a little further down the street there, was blood in that vehicle. so we knew he was wounded. we just didn't know how bad. >> reporter: wounded and on the loose. at dawn on friday an entire region is put on lockdown, as a convoy of law enforcement personnel and equipment rolls into watertown. >> we're asking people to shelter in place, in other words, to stay indoors with their doors locked. >> reporter: during the day friday door to door, room to room searches turn up empty, and

by 6:00 p.m. bad news. >> we do not have an apprehension of our suspect this afternoon. >> reporter: the voluntary stay at home order is lift >> we are asking the public to remain vigilant. >> reporter: after a day inside, watertown resident dave hennaberry walks out to get some fresh air and notices something amiss with the cover of his boat. he took a closer look. >> i got i think three steps up the ladder, and i was -- i rolled it up, and i can see now through the shrink wrap. i didn't expect to see anything. and i look in the boat over here, and on the floor, and i see blood. >> reporter: what happens next is a blur. >> well, i know i took three steps up the ladder. i don't remember stepping down off the ladder. >> reporter: in an instant special law enforcement units

including s.w.a.t. teams and helicopters with infrared cameras swoop in. shots are fired. police are certain their man is inside hennaberry's boat,amed the "slipaway 2." hostage negotiators attempt to talk dzhokhar into surrendering. >> come out on your own terms. >> come out with your hands up. >> we know you're bleeding. >> i know they tried numerous flash bang grenades. they tried some -- they tried to gas him out of the boat. it just wasn't working. >> a s.w.a.t. team approaches. >> he was sitting on the edge of the boat with one leg hanging over the side. >> they tell our anderson cooper about the tense standoff. >> so you could see one hand clear of any weapons but each time the hand went the other way his hand went down inside the boat out of our view. and each time he did that we had to assume he was reaching for either a weapon, a firearm, or some type of explosive ignition

device to try to draw us in and then take us out in a suicide-type manner. we got close enough that at one point where both of his hands were up we could see no weapons were in them no, ignition devices. we broke away from the shield protective cover and we just rushed him. we put hands on him, grabbed him, and pulled him off the boat down onto the ground. and got him over to where the medics are and the federal agents, who were taking him into custody. >> reporter: just before 9:00 p.m., it's over. a bloodied, seriously wounded, and unarmed dzhokhar tsarnaev is taken away. [ cheers and applause ] coming up, chris lawrence on the trail of terror and what could have triggered the deadly bombings. [ mom ] with my little girl, every food is finger food.

so i can't afford to have germy surfaces. but after one day's use, dishcloths can redeposit millions of germs. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to a fresh sheet of new bounty duratowel. look! a fresh sheet of bounty duratowel leaves this surface cleaner than a germy dishcloth, as this black light reveals. it's durable, cloth-like and it's 3 times cleaner. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to new bounty duratowel. the durable, cloth-like picker-upper. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to new bounty duratowel.

hoo-hoo...hoo-hoo. hoo-hoo hoo. sir... i'll get it together i promise... heeheehee. jimmy: ronny, how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? ronny: i'd say happier than the pillsbury doughboy on his way to a baking convention. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

one brother, 19-year-old dzhokhar tsarnaev, was outgoing, friendly, and earned a scholarship to go to college. the other, tamerlan tsarnaev, was 26, married with a young daughter, an aspiring amateur boxer who had a dream. >> his goals in boxing, clearly he wanted to be a world champ one day, and i think he could have achieved that. >> reporter: luis vasquez med tamerlan as a sophomore at the

cambridge rindge and latin score in 2004. >> he could be intimidating because people knew he was a boxer and he had more of a reserved personality to him. but if you went up to him, he talks to you right back and he was very friendly. >> reporter: but were there any clues of the violence to come? >> he never expressed any desires to harm people. they did respect life at one point. they were friendly. >> reporter: after high school tamerlan attended bunker hill community college, studying accounting. until 2008, when he left college. but he continued to pursue his dream. >> good? >> mm-hmm. >> reporter: boxing trainer eddie bishop met tamerlan at a tournament. >> he was a fighter that had a lot of skill and a lot of -- a lot of ability. >> reporter: but bishop questioned whether tamerlan could ever become a boxing champ. >> he had all the skill, but he lacked the heart, the fundamental ingredient to make you a champion. >> reporter: the tsarnaev family is from war-torn chechnya and

came here to the u.s. more than ten years ago. dzhokhar came first, and then later his brother and two sisters joined the family. before coming to the united states, tamerlan's father coached him in boxing. so he was already on his way to becoming an experienced fighter. by 2009 tamerlan was boxing in the golden gloves tournament in salt lake city, utah. felt fellow boxer julian pollard roomed with tamerlan during the tournament. he remembers his swagger and sense of style. >> he stood out. the perception i got was flashy, confident, maybe cocky. i guess he backed it up in the ring. you know, he could fight. he could punch. he could put a guy out. when the time was right, if he had a big punch in him and the opening was there, he could finish a guy. >> reporter: that ferocity apparently carried over outside the boxing ring. he was arrested that same year for slapping his girlfriend in

the face during a fight over another woman. the following year, 2010, he married katherine russell, a suffolk university student he met in a nightclub and had dated on and off for several years. she converted to islam. pollard saw him again that year at another boxing tournament in lowell, massachusetts, but he didn't seem the same. >> in 2009, just a flashier guy, sharp dresser, like kind of carried himself with a lot of confidence, and then the next year seemed like a humbler guy, dressed a lot more conservative, kind of had like -- came to the fight as we all did, hoodie, jeans. >> reporter: he also seemed more devoted to his muslim faith. >> he didn't talk that much about his faith to me until in the next year i saw him at the tournament. it was obvious that it was a bigger part of his life. he felt like the immediate need to share it with me. he was really -- you know,

seemed like happy about where he was with his faith. >> tamerlan -- once tamerlan told me, mama, you know, islam is the right religion. >> reporter: tamerlan's mother witnessed her son's transformation. >> i would like, mama, you to be covered because islam is required -- requiring for women to be covered. so i said -- it was really like a little not expected aspect. so i said give me some time, you know, tamerlan. >> reporter: last year tamerlan traveled back to his homeland, a region of russia racked by ethnic violence and islamic extremism. when he returned to the united states six months later, he became more outspoken about his muslim faith. at the islamic society of boston cambridge mass, tamerlan stood

up during the sermon and challenged the preacher in two separate public outbursts -- one last november, another in january of this year. >> so when the person who was giving the sermon began to talk about dr. martin luther king, this man got up and objected. you know, raised his voice. which is against the etiquette of the sermon. and people objected to it. and some people might have even asked him to leave, you know, the mosque if he didn't like what he was hearing. >> reporter: but there were no indications that tamerlan or younger brother dzhokhar could be dangerous. >> they cared about you. they cared about people around them. they cared for other people making great choices and creating opportunities for themselves like they were trying to do for each other and for themselves also. it just doesn't make sense. >> reporter: tamerlan's high school friend luis vasquez later coached dzhokhar in soccer at the cambridge rindge and latin

school. >> these two guys had leadership traits. one was a leader of his family and really cared for them and the other was just a social leader amongst his friends and on teams. he was co-captain of the wrestling team. the little brother. >> reporter: dzhokhar got a $2,500 academic scholarship and enrolled at the university of massachusetts dartmouth. on september 11th, 2012. >> stand. raise your right hand. >> reporter: an ironic date in retrospect. he took the oath to become a u.s. citizen. zack betancourt went to college with dzhokhar. >> he completely acted american. i didn't even know he was achechnya. >> he was a very quiet, cool kid. very smart. extremely smart. classmates asked for help. he helped all the time. he wasn't a troublemaker. >> i thought he was -- he was a really good kid, honestly. he seemed like a good kid. every time i saw him. i like thought he was a nice person. >> reporter: those who thought they knew the brothers from high

school, college, from boxing now realize they never really knew them at all. the two brothers, outwardly so different, on april 15th are accused of acting together to bomb the boston marathon. incredibly, just days after the bombings, dzhokhar was spotted back on campus. betancourt saw him at the gym. >> we talked about the bombing for like about five minutes. he seemed very nonchalant. he didn't seem like nervous or anything. he seemed a little maybe tired and off. i asked him how he's doing. he was like yeah, i haven't been doing much lately, so i decided to come to the gym. >> reporter: betancourt says dzhokhar's reaction wasn't surprising. at the time. >> i was just talking about how, yeah, in iraq and afghanistan these things happen all the time and here it's crazy how this would happen. and he just said -- he was like, yeah, tragedies happen, man. these things happen around the world. like it's crazy. >> reporter: for julian pollard he hadn't thought much of his former boxing buddy until last

week. that's when he remembered that he had kept tamerlan's number. >> i forgot it was in the phone until i saw his picture on the news. so then i hit the t, and sure enough, his name was right there. and i was like, wow, it's definitely this dude. >> reporter: but were there other clues in his past? coming up, the russian connection. nick peyton walsh investigates what tamerlan was doing on his trip back to his homeland. stereoscopic vision... distronic plus braking... lane keeping and steering assist... eleven enhanced systems in all. ♪ twelve, counting your adrenaline system. ♪ the 2014 e-class. the most intelligent, exhilarating mercedes-benz ever made. ♪ ever made. if you're looking to go to school, you deserve more than just flexibility and convenience. so here's a few reasons to choose university of phoenix.

our average class size is only 14 students. our financial tools help you make smart choices about how to pay for school. our faculty have, on average, over 16 years of field experiene. we'll help you build a personal career plan. we build programs based on what employers are looking for. our football team, is always undefeated. and leading companies are interested in our graduates. we'll even help you decorate your new office. ok. let's get to work. i had[ designer ]eeling enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months, and keeps it clearer through 6 months. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events, including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred.

before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have symptoms such as persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. if you've had enough, ask your dermatologist about enbrel.

the north caucasus. a region ravaged by years of violence and bloodshed. the tsarnaev family is originally from here. but they left for a better life in the united states. tamerlan tsarnaev returned to this part of the world last year for a six-month visit that's now raising a lot of questions. >> who did he meet with over there? what did he learn? what did he do? did he become part of a cell? did he get training in how to assemble explosives? did he get money? did he receive encouragement, funding, direct support? come back to the u.s. and attack. and those are things that i don't think we'll ever know.

>> reporter: what we do know is that in january of 2012 tamerlan left the united states on a flight bound for moscow. he made his way to dagestan, a russian republic next to his family's ancestral homeland, chechnya, today also a part of russia. >> translator: he could radiate light and warmth. >> reporter: his extended family in dagestan welcomed him warmly. >> translator: he smiled a lot, and i asked him, is this your customary american smile? he was more of an american. >> reporter: much of what tamerlan tsarnaev did here remains a mystery. we know he stayed for some weeks here at his parents' home, keeping mostly to family and friends, helping his father out in his businesses around town, and often sleeping in. the tsarnaev family is part of the chechen community here. like many other chechens displaced from their homeland.

after the second world war tens of thousands of chechens perished in a mass deportation ordered by joseph stalin. in the 1990s chechens fought and won a bloody war for independence from russia. it was during this violence that the younger tsarnaev brother dzhokhar was born and given the name of a chechen leader. >> it's a sure sign of chechen patriotism in the family that in 1993 they called their little son dzhokhar, after dzhokhar dudaev, who was the pro-independence president. >> reporter: but chechen independence wouldn't last. another war with russia would kill thousands. and chechen extremists would wage a campaign of terror across russia, killing 186 children at a school in beslan, and more than 100 theatergoers in moscow. the tsarnaev family escaped the violence of the region by making

their way to the u.s. >> he would tell me that he's from chechnya. >> reporter: luis vasquez was friends with tamerlan in high school. >> that's where he's from. that's where he told me he has struggles. he didn't really elaborate. >> there's a whole generation of chechens who grew up with their families being displaced, relatives being killed, and so on. >> reporter: thomas deweil has studied and written about the region. >> for most people that's just a traumatic experience, but obviously for a small minority this is something that is in their dna, that drives them. >> reporter: and like many displaced chechens tamerlan may have struggled to fit in. chechnya is still home to militant separatist groups. and the home tamerlan's father grew up in has been destroyed by war. the relatives still live here. tamerlan traveled here during his trip last year. >> translator: he came to see

me. we talked. i said, come here, guy. are you studying, i asked. i'm studying, he said. there was nothing criminal about him. >> reporter: deval says this region has also seen a growth in islamic extremism, becoming more anti-western and anti-american. >> if you are a young jihadist from this region, you certainly blame russia as the kind of evil empire that attacked and repressed you and also the west, basically, did nothing to intervene when russia was bombing chechnya. >> reporter: it's not known if tamerlan met with any extremists during his visit to chechnya. on his youtube page in a playlist called "terrorism" there was i link to this video of a small-time militant, abu dijan. abu dijan and tamerlan were both in dagestan last year. according to dagestani police abu dijan's group ran a training camp in the woods and made these

videos, demonstrating how to mix and prepare homemade explosives or use cell phones as a detonator. and says the local police chief, the militants trained foreigners. >> what did the foreigners learn in the woods? >> translator: i can't talk about the number of foreigners, but they met to exchange their bandit experience. >> reporter: he says the militants trained chechen men who live in other countries. >> there are reports that dujan was observed at the mosque and he was observed meeting tsarnaev. do you know this? >> translator: i really can't answer this. for different reasons i can't answer. do you understand me? >> reporter: did abu dujan and tamerlan meet? we don't know. this past december abu dujan and other militants were killed when russian special forces hit their hideout. >> maybe he's a hero of the brother. maybe he isn't. but tamerlan watches these

videos, and then this individual gets killed. now, logic would tell you, well, who would you be mad at? runners in the boston marathon, what do they have to do with it? would you be mad at the united states? what do they have to do with it? >> reporter: no one will ever know. but we do know that on his last visit to dagestan tamerlan's family noticed a change in him. >> translator: we were happy that he didn't become a drug addict, he didn't become an alcoholic. he was on the path of islam. >> reporter: his family says that during his time here tamerlan would often visit the central mosque behind me for friday prayers as well as other mosques across this town, telling his family how central islam was to his life and that it was a religion of peace. that's why she doesn't believe that tamerlan and dzhokhar could have bombed the boston marathon. >> translator: in islam killing a non-muslim is like killing all of humanity. and killing a muslim is like killing the whole world.

>> reporter: last year tsarnaev's parents moved back to dagestan from the u.s. there a their aunt says the mother was in shock when she saw her sons' faces splashed across television screens here. >> translator: zubeidat grabbed the television screen and started screaming, shouting, "it can't be. i don't believe it. it can't be." >> reporter: their mother still can't believe her sons may be responsible. >> i really feel sorry for all of them. really feel sorry for all of them. but i do not want to believe that this were my sons. okay? and i don't believe. i don't believe. >> the people investigating boston, they say that tamerlan's faith drove him, what they say he did, in boston. >> i don't think so. i don't think so. i don't think that tamerlan did this.

i don't think. that faith would bring him into it. >> reporter: on thursday the parents held a press conference. they are helping with the investigation. both were interviewed earlier by u.s. authorities. >> translator: they asked us about our children. how did they live? what did they do? what were their interests? >> reporter: coming up, the investigation. drew griffin on the question everyone is asking. was anyone else involved? party! awwwww... arigato! we are outta here! party...... finding you the perfect place, every step of the way. hotels.com

omnipotent of opportunity. you know how to mix business... with business. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle.

and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i could get used to this. [ male announcer ] yes, you could business pro. yes, you could. go national. go like a pro.

say a prayer. say a prayer. >> reporter: questions the whole nation is asking. why would the tsarnaev brothers do it? how did they do it? and most importantly, who might have helped them? >> what they want to do is ensure that there are no other ties to any other groups that might try to follow up with this or plan something. >> reporter: juliet kayyem is a

former assistant secretary of homeland security. >> the other piece is building a strong case and making sure that case doesn't fall apart. that's why the indictment released this week was very, very careful to say look, we know he used weapons of mass destruction, we know he killed people, and that's enough to give him the death penalty. >> reporter: to build the case and find the answers, hundreds of federal investigators are now working around the clock, digging through debris, analyzing bits of bombs in one of the nation's largest terrorist investigations since 9/11. neighborhoods like this one across boston are being visited by the fbi. this man says five fbi agents showed up at his door to question his son about tweets sent to the younger brother. and on the college campus where dzhokhar went to school, friends

there tell cnn they too have been visited by the fbi. >> "up-front" next, breaking news. >> we'll hear about the terrifying ride through boston. >> there is a lot of news -- >> reporter: leads are still pouring in, and new details emerging daily. >> breaking news on the boston bombings. >> her attorneys say she knew nothing about what her husband was allegedly planning. >> a massachusetts gas station manager is now speaking out. >> reporter: among the leads, details on the bombs used by the tsarnaev brothers. bombs that started with ordinary pressure cookers bought at a boston department store. while deadly, the bombs were simple and cheap. packed with nails and ball bearings to cause maximum carnage. >> all of the equipment, all of the supplies involved in the boston bombings was probably under $100. >> reporter: and where would two brothers in boston learn how to take a pressure cooker like this and make it into a bomb like that?

right here, of course. it's on the internet. >> there are striking similarities between the boston devices and a recipe which was put out by "inspire" magazine in the summer of 2010, "how to build a bomb in your mum's kitchen." >> paul cruickshank is a terrorism analyst for cnn. >> now, these similarities included the fact that pressure cookers were used and explosive shrapnel was used, a low-grade explosive powder was used, but also very specific stuff like the fact that "inspire" magazine told followers that they should glue shrapnel inside the pressure cookers. now, that's what was done in boston. >> reporter: published by al qaeda in the arabian peninsula in english, the magazine was started by anwar al awlaki, the american yemeni cleric who was killed by a u.s. drone strike. cruickshank has been tracking al qaeda and this magazine for years. he says investigators are

looking closely at whether the brothers tsarnaev got their bomb recipe here. that could have larger implications. >> one of the largest concerns of western counterterrorism officials is that "inspire" magazine is still publishing new issues. in an issue that was put out recently, the magazine stated, "we are publishing america's worst nightmare." >> reporter: as investigators sift through evidence, the bits of bombs found blown across the crime scene should yield other clues, too. >> what were the components used in creating these devices? coupled with that, you're going to have an investigation or laboratory science is working on things like fingerprints, hair and fibers that may be included in there, and also tool markings. >> reporter: ray lopez is a former fbi explosives expert. >> these things were made with tools. so there's going to be a look for tool marks that are left after these things were done. and that's going to be matched

to any tools that were found at any of the search sites the investigators are working on. >> reporter: officials now say at least one of the bombs was detonated with a remote control device similar to those used to control toy cars. federal investigators must also now ask themselves hard questions, like did they drop the ball with tamerlan tsarnaev? two times the russian government approached the u.s. with concerns about the older brother, who later traveled to chechnya. ♪ upon his return to the u.s., tamerlan posted this video, showing clear extremist tendencies. >> what did he do when he went back for six months? did he sit in his aunt and uncle's home for six months? or was he doing something else? and when he came back to this country, why didn't it ring a bell with the fbi intelligence unit that he should be checked

out and vetted again? >> reporter: the fbi has told officials the bureau looked into the older brother in 2011 and found no red flags. the cia was also approached by the russians with similar concerns about tamerlan. questions were also raised by officials about the tsarnaevs' mother. both she and the older brother's names were added to a terrorist identities database. but the investigation appears to have gone nowhere. was tamerlan tsarnaev radicalized overseas? maybe so. but his uncle says tamerlan's views more likely came from someone in the u.s. >> i heard that talking from tamerlan. where that might be coming from. and he says, oh, yeah, there is -- yes, there is such a thing. there's a person, sort of some

new convert to islam. >> reporter: that new convert, a muslim extremist right here, in the boston area. >> he said this person, just he took his brain, he brainwashed him completely. tamerlan is off now. there's not even any obedience and respect to his own father. >> reporter: the uncle says tamerlan told him he quit listening to music and got very conservative after talking to the extremist whose name was misha. tamerl tamerlan's mother says misha was a good influence on her son. >> when misha visited us, we just kind of -- he just opened our eyes, you know. really wide. about islam. he was really -- he's devoted and he's a very good, nice man. >> reporter: dzhokhar tsarnaev, the surviving brother, told investigators that they conceived the attack and that they were self-radicalized ji d

jihadists inspired in part by the u.s. wars in afghanistan and iraq. late this week new york officials had their own news about the bombers. >> last night we were informed by the fbi that the surviving attacker revealed that new york city was next on their list of targets. >> reporter: the officials said dzhokhar tsarnaev indicated the brothers intended to take their remaining explosive and blow them up in times square. should investigators believe the brothers plotted and carried out the act on their own? still more questions. few clear answers. we may never know who tamerlan met with overseas or what happened to him. but we do know this -- he came back a changed man. >> we just had a young person who went to russia and chechnya who blew people up in boston. so he didn't stay where he went, but he learned something where he went, and he came back with a

willingness to kill people. >> reporter: coming up -- >> how close were you to the second explosion? >> i was right in front of it. >> reporter: anderson cooper finding boston strong. first kid you ready? [ female announcer ] second kid by their second kid, every mom is an expert and more likely to choose luvs than first time moms. after thousands of diaper changes, they know what works. luvs lock away wetness better than huggies for a fraction of the cost live, learn, & get luvs.

even in stupid loud places. to prove it, we set up our call center right here... [ chirp ] all good? [ chirp ] getty up. seriously, this is really happening! [ cellphone rings ] hello?

it's a giant helicopter ma'am. [ male announcer ] get it done [ chirp ] with the ultra-rugged kyocera torque, only from sprint direct connect. buy one get four free for your business.

[ male announcer ] engine light on? come to meineke now for a free code scan read and you'll say...my money. my choice. my meineke. do you have communication with the fbi? go ahead. >> negotiating. >> the boston police department has just tweeted "suspect in custody." >> reporter: five days after the blast the manhunt was over. the people of boston seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. ready to get back to business, ready to live life again. >> it's time for our ceremonial first pitch. >> reporter: and for boston that means baseball. [ cheers and applause ] it was a time of celebration amidst the sadness. triumph over tragedy.

or, as they say here, not just strong, boston strong. >> there's not anybody that's lived in boston for any period of time that wasn't touched by somehow the victims. >> reporter: boston's police chief edwin devoe. >> so we were all in it together as i look at it, and that's what boston strong meant. we were all going to stick this out and work together. >> reporter: work together to save lives. to catch the suspects. >> they have the suspect. they know exactly where he is. >> reporter: and to honor the innocent lives lost. 29-year-old krystle campbell. graduate student lingzi lu. third-grader martin richard. and m.i.t. police officer sean collier. today the streets of copley

square are once again open. and the injured are healing from the blast that changed their lives forever. >> we're lucky to be alive. >> reporter: adrian haslett davis was watching the marathon with her husband, air force captain adam davis, who served in afghanistan. >> how close were you to the second explosion? >> i was right in front of it. right in front of the -- of the business where it was. so i felt the direct impact. >> when the first explosion went off, what did you think? >> there was this silence, and i thought -- i clung to adam, my husba husband, and i thought there's going to be another explosion. and as soon as i thought that, i started saying oh, no, oh no, oh no, because you just have no idea where it's going to come from. and then all of a sudden i was blown in the air and landed almost in a pretzel with him. >> reporter: the blast was so powerful they say they were thrown about five feet. >> and i said i think we're okay. and i couldn't believe it. i couldn't believe that we survived and that we weren't

hurt at all. and i didn't feel any pain. i had no idea what had happened. and then i sat up and i tried to -- he said we've got to get out of here or something like that. and i sat up and tried to move. and i said oh, my gosh, my foot, there's something wrong with my foot. and he lifted up my leg, and we just lost it. just started screaming bloody murder. it was really bad. >> what did you do then? when you realized what had happened to your foot. >> just went into survival mode. i went into i've got to do something about this, i can't lose my foot. >> reporter: she couldn't lose her foot because adrian is a dance instructor. it's her passion, her life. and even as she was wheeled into the operating room, adrian remained optimistic. when she awoke, she remembers feeling her toes. >> when did you realize you didn't have a foot? >> i was -- i woke up and my parents were there, and i hugged them and kissed them. and i said, mom, can you help

me? i feel like my foot's falling asleep because it feels like my ankle is falling off of the pillow and my foot is half on. and i realized that now that was phantom pain because she looked at me and said, "adrian, you don't have a foot. your foot is gone." and i just lost it. it was really hard to hear. >> you're determined to dance again, though. >> i am. yeah. >> dancing is really important to you. >> it is so important to me. it's my life. >> you're incredibly optimistic. >> i try and stay on the positive side. i can either stay in bed and cry and be really upset, and i do have moments of that. but -- or i can say i'm going to run the marathon next year and conquer and be good. i mean, i would never let one of my students come in and say, oh, well, i can't do this anymore because i hurt my arm or i lost my leg or if they came in with their prosthetic i would say

i'll teach you. it's fine, we're going to make that work. and i would be nothing to them if i didn't accept that challenge for myself. >> and you want to run the race next year? >> i do. i can't believe i said that. i'm only 32. i don't want this to be the end. so whether it's running the marathon or walk the marathon or crawling the marathon and being the last one across, i'm okay with that. i didn't say i'd win it. but i am defiant, and i want to -- i want to come out stronger. >> reporter: stronger. boston stronger. just like the city where first pitch signals a new start. like the city that's rebuilding, rebounding. like the city that terror couldn't stop. >> we are one boston. no adversity, no challenge, nothing can tear down the

resilience in the heart of this city and its people. with so much competition, finding the right job is never easy. but with the nation's largest alumni network, including those in key hiring positions, university of phoenix can help connect you to a world of opportunity.

♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats. you can't go wrong loving it.

today boston is back in business. and adrian, the dancer we introduced you to, is getting better. we plan to keep in touch with her during her recovery.

she'll have some challenges ahead, no doubt about it. not the least of which making good on her promise to teach me how to dance. how to dance. i'm anderson cooper. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com hello, everyone, and welcome to our special coverage of the white house correspondents' dinner. i'm don lemon. headlining tonight's event, well, of course president barack obama. along with comedian and tv late-night host conan o'brien, with an audience of journalists and celebs. insiders jokingly refer to this event as the nerd prom. we'll be carrying the president and conan live. and you will not want to miss one minute of it. but before we get to all of that we have to remember that this year is a little different. this is a live look at the memorial in boston'sop